The investigation began on Sept. 1, police spokesman Rodney Brown said. A police officer went to the parking lot of the South Oak Manor high-rise apartment building to check out a report of $4,500 in damage to a 2002 Hyundai.

The 64-year-old man who owned the car said someone slashed three tires and scratched the paint across most of the body sometime during the previous two days.

An investigator identified three suspects -- Blake Swartz, 18, Lucian Peterson, 22 and an unidentified 17-year-old man -- who had been in North Platte to help a family member move, police spokesman Rodney Brown said.

The three live in Atwood, Kan.

With the help of Atwood police, investigators found probable cause to arrest the three. They arrived in North Platte on Saturday to be arrested, processed and released from the Lincoln County Jail, charged with felony criminal mischief.